Shloka 47
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
संहारविक्षेपमनिष्टमेक॑ चत्वारि चान्यानि वसत्यनीश: । षष्ठस्य वर्णस्य परा गतिर्या सिद्धावसिद्धस्य गतक्लमस्य,“जो परमगति छठे (शुक्ल) वर्णके साधकको मिलती है, उसे पानेका अधिकार भ्रष्ट करके भी जो असिद्ध हो रहा है एवं जिसके समस्त पाप नष्ट हो चुके हैं ऐसा योगी भी यदि योगजनित ऐश्वर्यके सुखभोगकी वासनाका त्याग करनेमें असमर्थ है तो वह न चाहनेपर भी एक कल्पतक अपनी साधनाके फलरूप महर्, जन, तप और सत्य--इन चारों लोकोंमें क्रमश: निवास करता है (और कल्पके अन्तमें मुक्त हो जाता है)
saṁhāra-vikṣepam aniṣṭam ekaṁ catvāri cānyāni vasaty anīśaḥ | ṣaṣṭhasya varṇasya parā gatir yā siddhāvasiddhasya gata-klamasya ||
Bhishma said: Even if a yogin has become free of fatigue and his sins are exhausted, yet remains unable to abandon the desire to enjoy the supernatural prosperities born of yoga, then—though he does not wish it—he is compelled to dwell, as the fruit of his practice, for the span of a kalpa in four higher worlds in succession: Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka, and Satyaloka. Only thereafter does he attain the supreme goal that belongs to the “sixth (bright/śukla) class” of aspirants.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Merit and yogic power can elevate one to exalted realms, but attachment to the enjoyment of yogic ‘siddhis’ obstructs final release. Liberation requires dispassion: without relinquishing subtle craving, one is carried by karmic momentum into prolonged heavenly residence before attaining the supreme goal.
In Bhishma’s instruction on liberation in the Shanti Parva, he explains the post-mortem trajectory of a yogin who has gained purity and power yet cannot renounce the taste for yogic enjoyments. Such a practitioner, though spiritually advanced, is compelled to dwell successively in higher worlds for a kalpa, and only afterward reaches the final liberation associated with the highest class of aspirants.